With the emergence of domestic and international specialty television networks and channels, television signal receiving satellite dishes have become increasingly popular with viewers leading to the proliferation of satellite dishes in the urban landscape. To prevent signal interference, satellite dishes are typically installed outside a building on the rooftop or on a sidewall thereof. As a result, the satellite dishes tend to be exposed to inclement weather conditions, such as wind, rain, snow and ice. Exposure to the elements may adversely affect a satellite dish's signal receiving capability. In particular, the accumulation of snow or ice on the satellite dish may damage the dish reflector body and cause signal deterioration. If sufficient interference is present and the signals received fall below a predetermined threshold, television reception may be lost. To address this problem and protect the dish reflector body, various solutions have been proposed.
One such solution is described and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,933,908 issued to Mirabueno. This patent discloses a protective cover for satellite dishes that includes a rigid mounting plate removably securable to a support surface for mounting a satellite dish, and a dome section removably attachable to the mounting plate. The dome section is sized and shaped for housing the satellite dish therein and is formed from transparent fiberglass. When installed onto the satellite dish, the dome section of the protective cover fully encloses the satellite dish. The protective cover is also provided with a mechanism for contemporaneously rotating the satellite dish and a selected portion of the dome relative to the mounting plate. While this cover tends to adequately protect the satellite dish from external elements and other interferences, it tends to be bulky and cumbersome. With its plurality of moving parts, the costs associated with manufacturing such a cover tend be expensive and the installation of such a cover onto a support structure tends to be time-consuming and complicated. In addition, this type of protective cover may be ill-suited for use in conjunction with satellite dishes mounted on the vertical face of a building or structure.
Another approach is disclosed and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,125 issued to Kelly et al. The satellite dish cover described in this patent includes a flexible sheet material constructed and arranged for being disposed over the dish and feeder horn of the satellite dish assembly. The sheet includes a main body panel that wraps around the dish and the feeder horn and a secondary body panel that is sewn to the main body panel and is designed to extend from the rear of the dish to the dish support. The main body panel is designed to fit tightly over the dish and the feeder horn, but is prone, however, to sagging when snow or ice is disposed on the cover. To mitigate such sagging, a cinching mechanism is provided. The cinching mechanism, in the nature of a hook and loop fastener, is affixed to the feeder horn-receiving, end portion of the main body panel and is adapted to maintain the main body panel in tight fitting relation with the satellite dish. However, a drawback associated with this type of protective cover is that the cover does not lie substantially flat against the front face of the satellite dish and thus tends to present a large surface area which, in high wind areas, may catch the wind thereby subjecting the satellite cover and satellite dish to large forces and possibly significant vibrations. Additionally, the provision of a protective cover that shrouds both the dish and feeder horn may require a significant amount of material for a large satellite dish and tends not to be aesthetically pleasing.
In an attempt to overcome the foregoing shortcomings, alternate satellite dish covers have been developed, an example of which is described and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,047 issued to Pfnister. This patent discloses a cover that substantially conforms to the shape of the satellite dish. The cover has a first front portion and a second back portion sewn or otherwise attached to the front portion. When the cover is installed onto the satellite dish, the first front face is disposed adjacent the front concave surface of the satellite dish while the second back portion is disposed adjacent the back surface of the satellite dish. The cover may be constructed of a heavy, weather resistant flexible material such as a fabric. The dish cover further includes fastening mechanisms for allowing the dish cover to be releasably secured and closed about the dish cover. The patent further teaches that to enhance the aesthetic features of the cover, advertising material or decorative designs may be applied to the outer surface of the first front portion. While this constitutes an improvement over prior art protective covers, it tends to suffer from other disadvantages. More specifically, as a result of being tautly drawn against the concave face of the satellite dish, there is a tendency for unsightly wear lines to form on the cover along the points of contact with the satellite dish. In addition, the fabric may be prone to deformation from being overstretched, thereby resulting in the visual information displayed on the outer surface being distorted.
Other form-fitting fabric covers have been developed which at least partially avoid these problems. An example of one such cover is described and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,714,167 issued to Gusick, Jr. The fabric cover described in this patent is made of a substantially non-stretchable fabric sewn with a hem that coincides with the rim of the satellite dish to provide additional strength to the cover along the wear line of the cover against the rim. However, the fabric in these types of covers tends to deteriorate over time which can lead to sagging of the dish cover with deleterious effects on signal reception quality. In addition, fabrication of the cover may require the use of an expensive computer controlled cutting process.
United States Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0092089 of Courtney eschews the form-fitting cover made of fabric in favour of a cover constructed of a generally rigid weatherproof plastic, thereby avoiding the sagging problems encountered in prior art fabric covers. In one embodiment, the cover is formed with a generally rigid concave outer surface that is suitable for decorative and/or advertising use. While this type of cover constitutes an improvement over other known protective covers, applying a logo or decorative motif on the concave outer surface of the satellite dish cover tends to expose it to excessive wear resulting from constant exposure to the elements or various wind strewn debris, such as leaves and pine cones or needles. In time, the logo or decorative motif may get scratched off and/or its colours may fade thereby severely detracting from its aesthetic features. Additionally, in the field, signal degradation or loss has been experienced as a result of moisture infiltrating between the satellite and the cover, at times, leading to the formation of ice.
In light of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to have a protective satellite dish cover which could obviate the drawbacks associated with the prior art—one in which a logo or graphic could be suitably displayed and easily visible, while being protected from the harsh effects of the weather and the environment. It would be further desirable if such a protective cover could be relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture.